Nonstop flight route between Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan and Shemya, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Asahikawa Airport (AKJ), Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan and Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,570 miles (or 2,527 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the relatively short distance between Asahikawa Airport and Eareckson Air Station, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Asahikawa Airport (AKJ):

• The furthest airport from Asahikawa Airport (AKJ) is Port Stanley Airport (PSY), which is located 11,350 miles (18,267 kilometers) away in Stanley, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom.
• Because of Asahikawa Airport's relatively low elevation of 690 feet, planes can take off or land at Asahikawa Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In addition to being known as "Asahikawa Airport", other names for AKJ include "旭川空港" and "Asahikawa Kūkō".
• The closest airport to Asahikawa Airport (AKJ) is Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport (MBE), which is located 65 miles (104 kilometers) NE of AKJ.
• Asahikawa Airport (AKJ) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• Shemya also continued to support the Great Circle Route for MATS and later Military Airlift Command transports between Japan and Elmendorf AFB.
• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.
• On 27 January 1992 the 5073rd Air Base Group located at Shemya AFB was re-designated as the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force 673d Air Base Group.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
• The closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
• The furthest airport from Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,168 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Because of Eareckson Air Station's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Eareckson Air Station at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Eareckson Air Station is located on the western tip of Alaska's Aleutian islands near the larger island of Attu, and is located approximately 1500 miles southwest of Anchorage.
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.